Quick Dips

Earthquake Lessons 10 Years On

"New Zealand needs to be much better prepared to cope with a major disaster and its aftermath than is the case at present," says John Blakeley, President of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, at the launch of a book marking the 10th anniversary of the Edgecumbe Earthquake.

"New Zealand is indeed fortunate that it has experienced no earthquakes causing substantial and widespread damage since 1987, and I believe it is still important to learn as much as possible from the experience of this particular earthquake event."

The book primarily describes a technical study of the damage caused by the earthquake to domestic, commercial and industrial buildings and to infrastructure in the region, but also comments on how the recovery and reconstruction period was handled.

"The retrospective study has shown that neither the central government of the day nor the local community was well prepared to cope with a disaster of this magnitude 10 years ago," says Blakeley. "Although some lessons have been learnt since then, resulting in changes made, I believe that overall we are little better prepared in New Zealand to cope with a civil emergency such as this one than we were 10 years ago."

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake which hit the eastern Bay of Plenty on March 2 1987 cost almost $400 million, the bulk of which was made up of damage to physical infrastructure and assets. The industrial complexes at Bay Milk Products, Tasman Mill and Caxton Paper Mills were the worst hit, from both damage and loss of production, but the predominantly rural area meant that such losses comparable to other quakes of a similar magnitude were relatively low.

Almost half of the $14 million in domestic property restoration claims were for chimney damage, and the report writers note that the major problem in settling such claims was that householders often did not know with whom they were insured.

Rumours caused problems after the earthquake, with people panicking in response to false reports of dam failure at the Matahina Dam and ruptures to chlorine gas lines at the Tasman plant. Some looting was experienced, with Army volunteers seconded for extra security.

The book notes that the earthquake was probably the first in the world to have had a comprehensive computerised information system set up quickly enough to be used in the recovery period. Sixth and seventh form pupils at Edgecumbe College used equipment from the school's computer department to provide a comprehensive database of records from field observations and surveys. Cooperative efforts by local residents have been credited with enabling them to cope with the emergency and its aftermath. Blakeley warns that such efforts will continue to be of importance.

"A fundamental change is required in the mindset of the public from government dependence to community and individual self-reliance in coping with emergencies. There is as yet little evidence that this is happening, and this will require a major educational effort."